5 Surprising Facts About the Iditarod Dog Sled Race 5 Surprising Facts About the Iditarod Dog Sled Race Poodles can't compete, for one. View Images Musher Nathan Schroeder and his team head down the Iditarod Trail in Willow, Alaska, on March 2, 2014. PHOTOGRAPH BY BOB HALLINEN, ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS, AP Sixty-nine dogsledders are mushing across the Alaska wilderness in hopes of becoming top dog in the 42nd annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race . Related Content How to Tackle the Triathlon: 6 Biking Tips Since 1973, hundreds of competitors have come from all over the world to make the 1,150-mile (1,850-kilometer) journey from Anchorage to Nome. Usually, between 60 and 100 teams participate in the event. Each team must start with 16 dogs and finish with at least six.

( Read what it takes to compete in the Iditarod .) National Geographic talked to Diane Johnson , the Iditarod's director of education, to learn more about the so-called last great race. 1. Iditarod is a city, a river, a trail, and a race. Iditarod means "distant" or "distant place" in the languages of Ingalik and Holikachu, which are spoken by indigenous Athabaskan peoples of northwestern Alaska. It's also the name of a city, a river, and a trail in the same area. A relic from Alaska's gold-mining era, the abandoned city of Iditarod is located along the Iditarod River (map) and considered the halfway point on the southern route of the dogsled race. Back in the gold rush days, the only way to deliver mail to Iditarod was to drive a dogsled along the Iditarod Trail . But after World War II, Alaska transportation began to change in favor of faster methods of travel such as snowmobiles and airplanes. "By the 1970s, the dogsled tradition had nearly disappeared," said Johnson.

Iditarod race founder and musher Joe Redington, Sr., created the long-distance race named after the trail to keep Alaska dogsledding alive and to help the Iditarod Trail become recognized as a historic trail. 2. The starting line can change. Unseasonably warm weather can move the starting line of the Iditarod race—known as the restart location—if the trail begins to melt. In 2003, when the trail near Willow was impassable due to deteriorating conditions, the race was moved to Fairbanks, a city 359 miles (578 kilometers) north of Anchorage. Organizers considered moving it to colder Fairbanks again this year, but decided that trail conditions were safe for the racers. 3. Chihuahuas need not apply. Only northern dog breeds like Siberian huskies and Alaskan malamutes are allowed to race in the Iditarod. The rule was adopted in the early 1990s after musher John Suter entered the 1988 competition with standard European poodles on his dogsled team. However, many of the poodles were dropped off at checkpoints due to frozen feet and hair-matting problems.

"Most of our pet dogs don't have the right undercoat to travel in the Alaskan conditions during the winter," Johnson said. ( Take National Geographic's dog quiz .) Some mushers disagree with the decision to allow only northern breed dogs, but the organization insists the rule is to protect dogs that aren't suited for cold-weather racing. View Images Musher from Addison starts Iditarod race in Alaska - tribunedigital-chicagotribune Musher from Addison starts Iditarod race in Alaska March 02, 2013|Reuters The dogs of musher Jessica Hendricks charge out of the start gate at the ceremonial start to the Iditarod dog sled race in downtown Anchorage, Alaska. (NATHANIEL WILDER / REUTERS) ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A dog sled racer from Addison, Ill., took part in the ceremonial start of the Iditarod race Saturday, although he doesn't expect victory. “My biggest goal is just to finish it. I'm not looking to compete whatsoever,” said Charley Bejna, a race rookie musher from the Chicago suburb. Bejna said he hopes someday to move permanently to Alaska, where he has built a cabin.

For now, he said, he is maintaining a reverse-snowbird lifestyle, spending winters in Alaska to train with his dogs and summers in Illinois, where he runs a landscaping business that provides the money for him to pursue his dog-mushing dreams. “Everybody says, ‘Why would you do that?'” Bejna said. His reply? “I can't run dogs in the summertime.” Dogs barked and spectators cheered as 66 mushers and their teams in the 1,000-mile Iditarod race set out from downtown Anchorage on Saturday after religious blessings, singing and glad-handing with fans. The 11-mile first leg ends at a wooded park in the southeast part of the city, in the ceremonial launch of the 41st annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Timed racing will not start until Sunday when the mushers reach Willow, a small community about 80 miles north of Anchorage. The competition will eventually see them glide into Nome, a city on the coast of the Bering Sea. On Saturday mushers mingled with fans in Alaska's largest city and reflected on the long road ahead.

Fans serenaded Jamaican musher Newton Marshall, who turned 30 on Saturday, with “Happy Birthday.” A Russian television crew asked him about his decision to leave the sunny Caribbean climate for the snowy Iditarod trail. “Well, you can't do it in Jamaica,” Marshall said. A Catholic priest, a Russian Orthodox priest and a minister from a Korean church blessed the dogs in racer Scott Janssen's team. Janssen, an Anchorage funeral director, calls himself “The Mushin' Mortician.” Four-time champion Martin Buser, the first competitor out of the chute, reminisced about the days when the race clock started in Anchorage and mushers sprinted out of town. “It used to be wild,” he said. “This is a bit more relaxed, a bit more at ease.” The Iditarod began with timed competition in Anchorage until the mid-1990s. Back then, the racers rushed to the suburb of Eagle River, where they had to load their dogs into trucks, speed 30 miles up the highway and restart the competition in Wasilla. Sleds crashed into cars, snowmobiles, people and even trains, Buser recalled.

Buser himself once hit a police cruiser with one of his sleds. STILL SOMETHING AT STAKE Concerns about safety as development spread to the edges of Anchorage caused race organizers to change the format to the current two-day start. Even though Saturday's trot through Anchorage does not count in the race rankings, there was something at stake. The winner will receive $50,400, part of a total race purse of $600,000, and a new truck. “I suppose, if everything goes right for them, anybody can win,” said 2011 champion John Baker, who holds the race speed record of eight days, 18:46 hours. “I would hope my chances are better than everybody else's.” Baker and Buser are in a crowded field of contenders this year. Also in that group is defending champion Dallas Seavey, who at 25 was the youngest Iditarod winner. Last year's runner-up, New England transplant Aliy Zirkle, could become the first female champion in more than two decades.

Iditarod Sled Dog Race | Visit Anchorage Iditarod Sled Dog Race Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race A Downtown Start for Iditarod The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is one of Alaska’s iconic winter events, and the excitement starts in Anchorage on the first Saturday of March each year. The 2017 race gets underway at 10 a.m., on Saturday, March 4. The Iditarod course begins on Fourth Avenue at D Street and runs all the way to Campbell Creek Science Center. Onlookers get a close-up view of the teams. Spectators flock to the start line downtown or stake out a spot further down the 11-mile route through Anchorage. After a restart at Willow the following day, Iditarod mushers and their dogs battle the elements and test their own limits on the approximately 1,000 mile trail to Nome. 6 Great Iditarod Trip Ideas Visit a kennel: In the weeks leading up to the Iditarod, mushers open their kennels for tours and many offer teach the tricks of managing a team of dogs. Hop on the runners of a sled and try dog sledding for yourself .

Attend the banquet: The Musher’s Banquet is the Thursday before the start at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. Mushers draw their starting order at the gala, which features a plated dinner and plenty of time to meet the mushers. Chase the race: You can also follow the Iditarod by air on a special flightseeing package or take a snowmobiling tour to cheer on the amazing four-legged athletes as they make their way to Nome. Winterlake Lodge serves as a checkpoint and fills up fast during the dates teams pass through. Head to HQ: There's plenty of Iditarod action in Anchorage after the start. During the race, activity centers on The Lakefront Anchorage – official headquarters of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The hotel is command and control for race officials, volunteers and fans following the race from Anchorage. Ride the first miles on race day: For a sample of what awaits on the trail, secure a spot in one of the Iditarod contenders’ sled baskets during the Anchorage ceremonial start. Spots for this once-in-a-lifetime experience are limited and are auctioned off in December and January to the highest bidders in the IditaRider Auction.

Volunteer: Volunteers help handle dogs on start day, communicate with checkpoints, monitor race updates and more. The volunteer spots offer everyone interested a way to lend a hand and participate in Iditarod. Events Surrounding Iditarod The start of the Iditarod coincides with other great winter events. Anchorage Fur Rendezvous is one of the largest winter festivals in the world, and finishes a 10-day run on the weekend of Iditarod. The Running of the Reindeer, a dash down Fourth Avenue with live reindeer, are on the afternoon following the Iditarod Start. The Charlotte Jensen Native Arts Market, snow sculpture competition and Miners and Trappers Ball are all on Saturday too. Dog sleds aren’t the only thing sliding along the trails. The Tour of Anchorage, a community cross-country ski race, takes to the trails on the day following the Iditarod start in Anchorage. It’s also a great time to check out downhill skiing at Hilltop Ski Area , Arctic Valley and Alyeska Resort.

Iditarod Sled Dog Race 2015 Start Time And Live Stream: Warm Weather Pushes Event North Iditarod Sled Dog Race 2015 Start Time And Live Stream: Warm Weather Pushes Event North 03/07/15 AT 2:07 PM Close For those who haven’t had enough of Old Man Winter this year, the 2015 Iditarod Sled Dog begins Saturday in Fairbanks, Alaska, with a live-stream broadcast on the event’s official website. The race's official start happens on Monday, but the ceremonial start begins Saturday at 9:30 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. EST. The annual 1,000-mile event typically begins in Anchorage, but officials were forced to relocate the route this year due to unseasonably warm weather conditions, as NPR reported . Named for the Iditarod Trial, which runs up the Alaska Range, the popular Iditarod Sled Dog race first began in 1973. This year’s race will feature 78 racers -- or mushers -- six of whom are former champions, according to CBS News .

Some of the less experienced participants say the route change this year could help their chances. “It doesn’t hurt a guy like me who has only run the race a couple of times,” Brent Sass of Eureka, Alaska, told the Associated Press. Musher Rick Casillo greets spectators during the official restart to the Iditarod dog sled race in Willow, Alaska, March 2, 2014. Photo: REUTERS/NATHANIEL WILDER Related Stories Hendrick In Line For 3rd Straight Daytona Win This winter has been an unusually warm one for much of the Western United States, due to the same weather pattern that pummeled much of the East Coast with mountains of snow and frigid temperatures. Start time for this year’s Iditarod Sled Dog will be Monday at 9:30 a.m. local time, 1:30 p.m. EST. The race will conclude in about 10 days in the city of Nome. Watch the live stream replay and live blog on the official website, iditarod.com. For full-screen viewing, users can log in or register for free. This article previously stated incorrectly that the race's start time was 10 a.m. local time Saturday.

History – Iditarod The World was Changing… Original document by Don Bowers, Edited 2012 Even after the advent of the airplane, dog teams continued to be widely used for local transportation and day-to-day work, particularly in Native villages. Mushers and their teams played important but little remembered roles in World War II in Alaska, particularly in helping the famous Eskimo Scouts patrol the vast winter wilderness of western Alaska. After the war, short and medium distance freight teams were still common in many areas of Alaska even when President Kennedy announced that the United States would put a man on the moon. During the 1960’s, however, it was not space travel but the advent of the “iron dog” (or snowmachine or snowmobile) that resulted in the mass abandonment of dog teams across the state and loss of much mushing lore. In 1964, the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee was formed to look into historical events in Alaska, specifically the Mananuska-Susitna Valley, over the past century. 1967 marked the 100th anniversary of Alaska being a U.S. Territory after being purchased from Russia.

Dorothy Page, chairman of this committee, conceived the idea of a sled dog race over the historically significant Iditarod Trail. Joe Redington Sr. was her first real support for such a race. Joe and his wife Vi had deep historical interests in the Iditarod Trail since the mid-1950’s and felt this centennial race would help in their quest to preserve the historic gold rush and mail route and get it recognized nationally. The Redingtons and Pages joined forces. Dorothy poured her heart and soul into research as a historian and Joe Redington worked non-stop to put together a new sprint sled dog race. With much volunteer labor (the start of a fundamental Iditarod tradition), the first part of the trail was cleared, including nine miles of the Iditarod Trail. The two heat, 56 mile Centennial race between Knik and Big Lake was held in 1967 and 1969. Then, interest in the race was lost. However, Joe Redington never lost interest, instead his vision grew into a never conceived of before long-distance race. Countless hours of discussions with fellow mushers followed. Two of these mushers were teachers, Tom Johnson and Gleo Hyuck.

These three men spirited this first-ever, long-distance race into reality and in 1973 a new race was born. The U.S. Army helped clear portions of the trail and with the support of the Nome Kennel Club (Alaska’s earliest, founded in 1907), the race went all the way to Nome for the first time. Even so, the mushers still had to break much of their own trail and take care of their own supplies. The winner of the first Iditarod was Dick Wilmarth, taking almost three weeks to reach Nome. Redington had two reasons for organizing the long-distance Iditarod Race: to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan huskies, which were being phased out of existence due to the introduction of snowmobiles in Alaska; and to preserve the historical Iditarod Trail between Seward and Nome. To promote both goals, Redington asked Dorothy Page to be the editor of an Iditarod Annual. Her enthusiasm, drive, and love of history opened the world’s eyes to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race®. The race is really a reconstruction of the freight route to Nome and commemorates the part that sled dogs played in the settlement of Alaska.

The mushers travel from checkpoint to checkpoint much as the freight mushers did eighty years ago—although some modern dog drivers like Doug Swingley, Martin Buser, Jeff King, Susan Butcher, and Rick Swenson move at a pace that would have been incomprehensible to their old-time counterparts, making the trip to Nome in under ten days. Since 1973, the race has grown every year despite financial ups and downs. The Iditarod has become so well-known that the best mushers now receive thousands of dollars a year from corporate sponsors. Dog mushing has recovered to become a north-country mania in the winter, and some people now make comfortable livings from their sled-dog kennels. While the Iditarod has become by far Alaska’s best-known sporting event, there are a dozen other major races around the state every winter, such as the grueling thousand-mile Yukon Quest, the Kobuk 440, the Kusko 300, the Klondike 300, and the Copper Basin 300.

In a revival of age-old tradition, some entire villages and towns in rural Alaska become swept away in the frenzy of sled dog racing, and sled dog are now common in many rural areas where they were eclipsed by “iron dogs” only a few decades ago. Alaska is the world Mecca for sled dog racing, which has developed into a popular winter sport in the Lower 48, Canada, Europe, and even Russia. Mushers from more than a dozen foreign countries have run the Iditarod, and Alaskan mushers routinely travel Outside to races such as the John Beargrease in Minnesota, the Big Sky in Montana, the UP 200 in Michigan, and the Alpirod in Europe. A number of Alaskan mushers have even run races in the Russian Far East. The Winter Olympics are considering adding sled dog racing as an event and several sled dog races were held in Norway in conjunction with the 1994 games. Although the race’s fame causes many people to think of the Iditarod Trail when they think of traveling to Nome, the trail is actually impassable during the spring, summer, and fall.

Moreover, its routing is far from a direct course, taking about 1,150 miles to go the 650 or so airline miles from Anchorage to Nome. In addition, the race committee has routed the race to pass through a number of towns and villages missed by the original trail, and has adopted a northern route for even-numbered years to include more villages along the Yukon. The checkpoints for the first half of the current race are Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip, Willow, Knik, Yentna Station, Skwentna, Finger Lake, Rainy Pass (Puntilla), Rohn Roadhouse, Nikolai, McGrath, Takotna, and Ophir. In odd numbered years the middle part of the race largely follows the original trail, from Ophir through Iditarod, Shageluk, Anvik, Grayling, and Eagle Island to Kaltag. In even years, it swings north from Ophir to Cripple, Ruby (heart of another old mining district), Galena, Nulato, and on to Kaltag.

From Kaltag, the home stretch is the same every year: Unalakleet, Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain, Safety Roadhouse, and Nome. True to their predecessors, the mushers still run down Front Street past the still notorious saloons into the heart of the Last Frontier’s last frontier town to the burled arch. Every musher’s arrival is heralded by the city’s fire siren and every musher is greeted by a crowd lining the “chute”, no matter the time of day or night, or if he or she is first or fifty-first across the line. The Beginning of The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race® The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race first ran to Nome in 1973. In the mid 1950’s, Jo and Vi Redington were writing letters to bring rememberance to the old Iditarod Trail and it’s important historical significance to Alaska’s history. There were two short races using nine miles of the Iditarod Trail in 1967 and 1969.

(Sprint races) The idea of having a race over a portion of the Iditarod Trail was conceived by the late Dorothy G. Page. In 1964, Page was chairman of the Wasilla-Knik Centennial Committee and was working on projects to celebrate Alaska’s Centennial Year in 1967. Page was intrigued that dog teams could travel over land that was not accessible by automobile. In the late 1890’s and early 1900′s, settlers had come to Alaska following a gold strike. They traveled by boat to the coastal towns of Seward and Knik and from there, by land into the gold fields. The trail they used is today known as The Iditarod Trail, first surveyed by the Alaska Road Commission in 1908 and now one of the National Historic Trails as so designated by the Congress of the United States. In the winter, their only means of travel was by dog team. The Iditarod Trail soon became the major “thoroughfare” through Alaska. Mail was carried across this trail, people used the trail to get from place to place and supplies were transported via the Iditarod Trail. Priests, ministers and judges traveled between villages via dog team.

All too soon the gold mining began to slack off. People began to go back to where they had come from and suddenly there was less travel on the Iditarod Trail. The use of the airplane in the late 1920’s signaled the beginning of the end for the dog team as a standard mode of transportation, and of course with the airplane carrying the mail, there was less need for land travel. The final blow to the use of the dog team came with the appearance of snowmobiles in Alaska. By the mid 60′s, most people in Alaska didn’t even know there was an Iditarod Trail or that dog teams had played a very important part in Alaska’s early settlement. Dorothy G. Page, a resident of Wasilla and self-made historian, recognized the importance of an awareness of the use of sled dogs as working animals and of the Iditarod Trail and the important part it played in Alaska’s colorful history. Page presented the possibility of a race over part of the Iditarod Trail in celebration of Alaska’s Centennial celebration in 1967 to an enthusiastic Joe Redington, Sr., a musher from the Knik area.

Soon the Pages and the Redingtons began promoting the idea of the Iditarod Race to the extent that Joe and Vi Redington moved to the Knik area from their homestead at Flat Horn Lake and they have never moved back. (Flat Horn Lake is approximately 30 miles out of Knik.) The Aurora Dog Mushers Club, along with men from the Adult Camp in Sutton helped clear years of over-growth from a nine mile section of the Iditarod Trail. The sprint race from Knik to Big Lake and back again was a two day event covering 56 miles. Their hard work was finished in time for Alaska’s 1967 Centennial celebrations and the first race along part of the Iditarod Trail. A $25,000 purse was offered in that race, with Joe and Vi Redington donating one acre of their land at Flat Horn Lake adjacent to the Iditarod Trail to help raise the funds.

(The land was subdivided into one square foot lots and sold with a deed and special certificate of ownership, raising $10,000 toward the purse.) Contestants from all over Alaska and even two contestants from Massachusetts entered that first race on the Iditarod Trail , but a newcomer, Isaac Okleasik, from Teller, Alaska, won the race with his team of large working dogs. The sprint race was put on only one more time in 1969. Joe never gave up on looking for a way to preserve the history of the Iditarod Trail and began talking to friends about a long distance race. The goal was to have the race go to the goldrush ghost town of Iditarod in 1973. However, in 1972, the decision was made to take the race the 1,000 miles all the way to Nome. Howard Farley and the residents in Nome were instrumental in getting the northern portion of the race organized. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army reopened the southern portion of the trail between Fairwell Lake and Knik as part of a winter exercise.

Two teachers ,Tom Johnson and Gleo Hyuck believed in Redington’s vision of a long-distance race and worked with Joe to incorporate the Iditarod Race and plan it. Then others volunteered. The “Last Great Race on Earth” was a reality – all amidst comments that it couldn’t be done. Joe’s determination and vision along with many volunteers led to what we know today as the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. There were many who believed it was crazy to send a bunch of mushers out into the vast uninhabited Alaskan wilderness. But the race went! Twenty-two mushers finished that year and to date, there have been over 400 finishers. Mushers have come from Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Japan, Austria, Australia, Sweden and the Soviet Union as well as from about 20 different states in this country. For Joe Redington, the Father of the Iditarod, there were two most important reasons for the Iditarod Sled Dog race.

He is quoted in Nan Elliot’s book, I’d Swap my Old Skidoo for You, “When I went out to the villages (in the 1950’s) where there were beautiful dogs once, a snow machine was sitting in front of a house and no dogs. It wasn’t good. I didn’t like that I’ve seen snow machines break down and fellows freeze to death out there in the wilderness. But dogs will always keep you warm and they’ll always get you there.” He was determined to bring back the sled dog to Alaska and to get the Iditarod Trail declared as a National Historic Trail. Dorothy G. Page, the “Mother of the Iditarod” is quoted in the October 1979 issue of the Iditarod Runner on her intent for the Iditarod: “To keep the spirit of the Iditarod the same. I don’t ever want to see high pressure people getting in and changing the spirit of the race. We brought the sled dog back and increased the number of mushers. It is really an Alaskan event. I think the fact that it starts in Anchorage and then ends in Nome has opened up a whole new area for people in Alaska.

I think they appreciate that. It puts them in touch with the pioneer spirit.” At this time, Dorothy was fairly ‘new’ to Alaska, and the conversations that she and Joe had blended with Joe’s knowledge and goals to create a common recognition of the importance of the Iditarod Trail. Edited 2/2012 Iditarod Dog Sled Race Credit: Iditarod.com Known as “the Last Great Race on Earth,” the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is a 1,000-mile, long-distance sled dog race, held annually in early March. While the race typically runs from Willow (near Anchorage) to Nome, Alaska, race officials moved the start of the race over 200 miles northward to Fairbanks to find suitable trail conditions. It’s only the second time the race’s start has been moved. The last time happened in 2003. We’ve added more photos to our #Iditarod2015 Photo Gallery.

Catch up on the action here: #ktva pic.twitter.com/fbooYWyvAH — KTVA 11 News (@ktva) March 9, 2015 Cool Runnings Fairbanks received only 20 inches of snow this winter season, far below its normal winter snowfall of 60 inches. Anchorage was still able to stage the traditional ceremonial start to the race with the help of city workers, who delivered hundreds of truck loads of stockpiled snow from nearby communities and spread it out before the festivities began on Saturday. Credit: Frank Kovalchek via Flickr The first Iditarod race to Nome started March 3, 1973. The word comes from the Ingalik Indian word HaIditarod which was the name for the river on which the town was built. It means distant place.” This is no understatement: Teams travel over some of the roughest, most beautiful and wild terrain that nature has to offer – including mountain ranges, frozen rivers, forests and tundra.

#Yukon #musher Brian Wilmshurst wearing shorts on this balmy day #Iditarod2015 -LH pic.twitter.com/oDoxlVE0Ou — ADN Iditarod (@ADNIditarod) March 7, 2015 This year’s Iditarod includes 78 mushers, including six former champions and 20 rookies. Men and women compete equally in competition. Fun Facts • The winner will receive $70,000 – that’s a lot of dog chow! • Mushers and their teams must cover the distance in 9-15 days or more. • In 2002, Martin Buser broke the record for the fastest completion time when he crossed the finish line in 8 days, 22 hours, 46 minutes and 2 seconds. • A Red Lantern is awarded to the last musher to finish. The longest time for a Red Lantern was 32 days, 15 hours, nine minutes and one second by John Schultz in 1973. • The teams average 16 dogs each.

• According to the official Iditarod race website, in the Iditarod Race, dogs are marked in two ways, by the microchip identification system and by collar tags. • Visit the official website to catch all the race action! Musher Cindy Abbott is running the #Iditarod2015 for @RareDiseases . Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/XzS7gNFv6l Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska starts Saturday Iditarod sled dog race in Alaska starts Saturday MARK THIESSEN Share ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — They're getting ready to run the dogs in Anchorage. The 42nd Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race starts Saturday in Alaska's largest city. This is the noncompetitive start, and a festival-like atmosphere will be evident as mushers greet fans and take a leisurely 11-mile run on urban trails in Anchorage. The real race starts Sunday in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. That's the official start of the race that will see mushers go over two mountain ranges. They'll also mush on the Yukon River and on the frozen Bering Sea coast in the quest to be the first to reach Nome.

The nearly 1,000-mile race will end in about 10 days on Alaska's western coast. Reblog Iditarod Sled Dog Race | Nome, Alaska Iditarod Sled Dog Race NEW! 2016 Iditarod Events Calendar Every year in March, Nome hosts the finish of one of the toughest sled dog races in the world. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is a 1,049 mile trek through some of the most extreme wilderness in the nation. The first Iditarod race was held in 1973 and has been extremely popular ever since. During the finish of the race Nome’s population grows by approximately 1,000 people and turns Nome into what people everywhere warmly refer to as the “Mardi Gras of the North”. With hundreds of events to participate in and the ability to rub elbows with some of the most notorious names in the dog mushing industry, the finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Nome is an event not to be missed. Frequently Asked Questions: 1. When does the race start? The ceremonial start begins in Anchorage on the first Saturday in March. The restart begins the next day in Willow. 2.

When does the first musher cross the finish line in Nome? Usually nine to ten days after the restart. This can vary depending on weather and trail conditions. 3. Which route will the race run this year? The northern route is run on even years, and the southern route is run on odd years. 4. How do I purchase an AWARDS BANQUET TICKET? Tickets are sold only after the first musher crosses the finish line. After that time, you may purchase tickets at the Iditarod Headquarters at the Mini Convention Center. Tickets may not be reserved in advance. 5. When is the finish line “Burled Arch” erected on Front Street? The first Sunday before the first musher is scheduled to arrive. 6. All of the accommodations are already booked! Where can I stay? During the Iditarod, several Nome residents rent out bedrooms or even couch space in their private residence. The Nome Visitors Center maintains a list of renters through an Iditarod Overflow Housing Program . 7. Are there any special events going on during the sled dog race? Absolutely! Many local groups and businesses have events going on, and a list of these will be available soon.

You will be able to find a link to them in our Events Calendar page. There are also businesses that offer Iditarod related Tours ! 8. How can I become a volunteer during the Iditarod? Click HERE to go to the Volunteer Page of the Iditarod website. This page lists the types of volunteer positions that are available, and you will also find the names and e-mail addresses of many of the volunteer coordinators. 9. Can I fly to Russia from Nome? Nome based Bering Air offers charter flights to Russia, but you may be required to obtain certain documents prior to one of these flights. Bering Air has a Russian Travel page in their website. 10. How far is it to…? Check out our Distance Chart to see approximate distances to many of the facilities that are used by visitors during the Iditarod! For more information on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race go to HOUSING DURING THE IDITAROD: The finish of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is a very popular event; therefore, hotels and B&B’s tend to book up very early, some possibly a year in advance!

If you are unable to find a room, the Nome Convention and Visitors Bureau may be able to help. Each year, several Nome residents will open their private homes to people in need of a place to stay during the Iditarod, and the Visitors Center maintains a list of these individuals. Some residents may rent an entire apartment or home, and some may rent couch or floor space. If you are unable to secure a room in a hotel or B&B, and would like to be put on a wait list for a room in someone’s private home, please call the Visitors Center at (907) 443-6555, or send an e-mail to visit@mynomealaska.com . Visitors Center staff cannot guarantee being able to place you in a room, but they will do the best they can! When calling or e-mailing the Visitors Center to be placed on the wait list, please include all of the following: 1. Your Name. 2. Total number of people in your party. 3. Dates of arrival and departure. 4. Any special needs you may have. 5. Daytime telephone number. 6. E-mail address.

Local residents rent out rooms to visitors as a courtesy to enable as many people as possible the opportunity to witness the Last Great Race. If you make arrangements to stay in someone’s home, and you need to cancel, please let your host know so they can rent their room to someone else. TOUR GUIDES *Nome Chamber of Commerce Member. *NOME DISCOVERY TOURS Call for reservations: 907-304-1453 or 907-443-2814 Join Richard “Hello Central” Beneville in a heated van for an excursion around Nome to learn about the history of the Iditarod and historic Nome! *WILD ALASKA TRAVEL 1115 D Street, Juneau, AK 99801 855-294-5325 If you are looking for an amazing and authentic adventure in Nome, our 9-day Iditarod Finish & Northern Lights Tour package is the Superbowl for Iditarod fans! *SKY TREKKING ALASKA 485 W. Pioneer Dr.

Wasilla AK 99654 907-315-6098 Private guided air & land tours to see and experience the Iditarod Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome. A wide variety of “super cool” day trips and charters are available from Nome. Join us for Mardi-Gras with the dogs! DISTANCE CHART Unless specified, distances to the places listed below are measured from the Nome Visitors Center. The Nome Visitors Center is located at 301 Front St., in downtown Nome, directly across from City Hall. Distances are approximate. As you can see, many of the distances are listed in tenths of a mile; therefore, many of the places in Nome are within walking distance! AIRPORT

Question: Saturday marked the start of the Iditarod dogsled race. In what Alaska city does the race start?
Answer: Willow